Shock-Tober in Coventry

October 28, 2013

A man prepares to enter a crypt at Pine Grove Cemetery in Coventry during the Shock-Tober event held at the Paine House on Saturday afternoon.
Jessica Boisclair. Daily Times.

COVENTRY â In the spirit of Halloween, the Western Rhode Island Civic and Historical Society held Shocktober, an event where residents could enjoy fright, tours and guest speakers at the Paine House Saturday night.

Andrea Perron, author of House of Darkness House of Light, a that book became the basis for the movie The Conjuring, spoke to approximately 40 people in the basement of the Paine House about her experiences with the paranormal.

Chris Rondina, author of Vampires of New England, signed books and discussed his works with intrigued locals.

Prior to the two local authors speaking to the attendees, Ken DeCosta from RISEUP paranormal and Andrew Boisvert, member of the Pawtuxet Valley Preservation and Historical Society Cemetery Group, gave a tour of the Pine Grove Cemetery.

Both men put a historical and paranormal twist on the tour, incorporating facts and folklore for all to enjoy.

Boisvert explained that Pine Grove Cemetery was laid in 1855, although many of the graves are dated earlier than that.

Because many people buried their family members on farms and in the backyard, the bodies were eventually exhumed and moved to the cemetery at a later date.

He said the group he is a part of has been restoring the graves at the cemetery since March. So far, they have reset 200 grave stones that were knocked down.

âA lot of prominent members of the Coventry community are buried here,â he said.

He explained that one of the famous grave stone carvers, Oren Spencer, was buried in the cemetery along with many soldiers.